Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his work on H.R. 5021, which I rise in support of this afternoon, which provides greater certainty and sufficient funding for infrastructure projects across the Nation. Without an immediate solution for the highway trust fund, our State highway departments are left wondering if there will be adequate funding to continue any infrastructure improvement. In March of this year, the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department warned that, without congressional action to remedy the highway trust fund shortfall, continuing with highway and infrastructure contracts that were scheduled for April letting would have threatened the ability to pay contractors. As a result, 10 vital projects totaling over $60 million were either put on hold or forced to find alternative methods of temporary financing. My colleagues have described similar scenarios in their own States, meaning that across the Nation new infrastructure projects have already ground to a halt, threatening general contractors, their employees, suppliers, and putting at risk the jobs that are both directly and indirectly supported by these projects. I think most lawmakers can agree that ensuring that we have a reliable and modern infrastructure on land, water, rail, and air is critical.…”